Unicomp questions

[cj133]

Hi all,

I'm kind of looking for opinions, experiences etc.

I'm concerned that maybe I'm being unfair and perhaps even cutting off my nose to spite my face.
I have 3 model M keyboards.   A 1986 IBM which was my first keyboard and I've used most of my life.  A 2004 Unicomp 101 classic which originally had a PS2 plug and a 2017 Unicomp spacesaver.

The 1986 model M was flawless for 30 years, except the plug in the back started acting up from time to time.
The 2004 was good until the D button started not registering so it was tossed aside.
The 2017 from the day I got it had problems right out of the box.

The issues with the new spacesaver caused me to contact Unicomp, which I then decided to send in all 3 keyboards for service.  I paid to have both the 1986 and 2004 cleaned, completely gone over and converted to USB.  I figured why not, and it would get rid of the issues with the plug on the 1986.   I was also absolutely astonished they would work on a 31 year old keyboard.  Honestly, I still am.  No one is ever willing to do that with electronics.

The Spacesaver came back working, for the most part but would randomly type 5's.  Banging on it would stop it for a while.  So it seems like it's junk and always will be.  I used it at work for a year until I finally had enough.  It also seemed to start causing serious issues with the USB controller (flash drives not working right) which disappeared when I stopped using the keyboard.

The 1986 worked fine until recently it started randomly typing odd characters like -, etc.
The 2004 I just pulled out of the box and started using due to the failure of the 1986.  So far, this one is fine.

So, my feelings were to just ditch these and buy a modern keyboard.
The problem is.....................I don't want a modern keyboard and I probably really don't want anything other than buckling spring.

The USB controller thing was very odd but any time I plugged in that keyboard I'd start having problems with flash drives becoming unreliable, not showing up etc.  I've been using the computer without it for months now and the same flash drives have been flawless.  Not sure what to think.


Am I being unfair to Unicomp?  Should I try to get the two keyboards fixed again?

[fohat.digs]

It is my understanding that Unicomp does not "repair" old gear - they pull out your internal assembly and drop in a new internal assembly. Otherwise, almost any alteration would require a bolt mod and they are not going to do that.

[cj133]

Whatever they did to the 1986 one required new holes for the LED's as well as a new overlay.

So my assumption was they swapped out the PCBs and installed a new PCB where the LED's were, likely what's used in their newer models.

I'm also betting this is what failed, but I honestly don't know for sure.  I never opened it up to see what was done.   There's a nice molded cord in the spot the socket used to be.

[cj133]

So, I opened up the 1986 and I'm surprised, they actually did replace the entire assembly.   I assume the keys are my originals but who knows.  So basically I have the original shell and thats it.



Even more surprising is the wife spilled her coffee in it!!!   She finally admitted to it but honestly it had nothing to do with the issues.   The drain holes of the modern M did their job.


Sigh...

[1391401]

I have a unicomp and it felt like garbo compared to my Ms.  I'd rather roll my dice on a used M than a new unicomp anything.  There's also a model F group buy going that seeks to actually reproduce the original and it might have extras for sale (albeit expensive). 

[fohat.digs]

People love to dis Unicomps, but they have their merits. They can be crisper in feel, I think that the thin white latex mats were a big improvement.

The only one I currently own is one with Windows keys from the very early 2000s and it is pretty nice. Quality has definitely eroded over the years, but they still turn out a good product.

[tp4tissue]

Even more surprising is the wife spilled her coffee in it!!!   She finally admitted to it but honestly it had nothing to do with the issues.   

/Grounds for divorce, Chekk.

[cj133]

People love to dis Unicomps, but they have their merits. They can be crisper in feel, I think that the thin white latex mats were a big improvement.

The only one I currently own is one with Windows keys from the very early 2000s and it is pretty nice. Quality has definitely eroded over the years, but they still turn out a good product.

I'm only dising them because I've had two fail for similar reasons in 3 years, one of which was bad out of the box new and repaired by them already.

That's pretty bad imo.  Especially when you consider the cost of these keyboards.  They're not a $15 typical keyboard, you'd expect better reliability not worse.

[fohat.digs]

you'd expect better reliability not worse.

If you want reliability, get a rubber dome.

[cj133]

you'd expect better reliability not worse.

If you want reliability, get a rubber dome.

That's an odd comment considering I got 30 years out of an original model M.

[natAT]

you'd expect better reliability not worse.

If you want reliability, get a rubber dome.

That's an odd comment considering I got 30 years out of an original model M.

It’s an interesting discussion actually. I wonder if the (somewhat more controlled) impact of the Model M flipper is “harder” on a membrane, than the direct finger driven compression/contact with a rubber dome.

[cj133]

you'd expect better reliability not worse.

If you want reliability, get a rubber dome.

That's an odd comment considering I got 30 years out of an original model M.

It’s an interesting discussion actually. I wonder if the (somewhat more controlled) impact of the Model M flipper is “harder” on a membrane, than the direct finger driven compression/contact with a rubber dome.

If I understand it correctly, buckling spring isolates the switches from direct contact so no matter how hard you hit a key the actual switch only receives the normal force.

Also, my 2004 Unicomp did have an issue with the D key after a short time but they fixed that.   The other two issues IMO are board related.  It doesn't matter what keys they use.

I forgot about the D button issue.

So 3 out of 3 Unicomp boards have had failures.

Right how in using the one that had the D button failure but was fixed and converted to USB.

[cj133]

I just want to clarify.

This isn't about me *****ing and moaning or dissing Unicomp.


I started the thread because I want to know if I'm being unfair.
Maybe I am.  Maybe I'm expecting too much and I should just buy a new Unicomp.


It's just hard to think differently when my first keyboard, a 1986 square logo M lasted until 2016 with no real help other than wiggling the plug in the back.  I had it converted to USB by Unicomp to make it compatible with modern computers and I didn't want to deal with ps2 to USB adapters.   I guess this was ultimately a mistake.

But there's also a good chance my keyboard was just luck and most didn't last very long.   I don't know.  Ergo this thread.

[yui]

Lately i have bought a few buckling spring keyboards, an ibm from 1995, 3 unicomp from 2013 and one from 2019(new) all 122 keys, from what i saw the 2013 unicomps i bought had a much harder life than the ibm, apart from one that had a coffee spilled on it all had about the same number of broken rivets and the ibm has a dead controller, and the new one have some issue with the = key not registering as well as the others if not bottomed out.
So the quality of unicomps seems to be about on par with late ibms in my limited experience, and i would make sense given that it is the tooling they use. 
I should say that the ibm and 2013 unicomps were bought as dead keyboard and i must say the seller was not lying.